Chapter 132: New Martial Arts

The gift Qi Shiqi sent this time was indeed a lavish reward. After all, Zhang He and his companions had rendered immensely meritorious service to the Hidden Sword Manor; not only did they eliminate internal rivals, but they also helped him successfully retake the position of Manor Lord.

Once the gift chests were opened, they each revealed a series of small brocade boxes. Judging purely by the packaging and texture, it was easy to tell that the sender possessed exceptional taste, and the value of the contents was undoubtedly exorbitant.

The brocade boxes were inscribed respectively with six names: Conquering All With Might, Zhong Shuman, Crazy Bull Plucking the Lute, Dongqing Lanlan, Thousand-Leaf Butterfly, and Hua Feihong.

Clearly, Qi Shiqi had prepared a personalized portion for each individual.

Among them, the fat man and his wife, Ma Junmei, and Hua Feihong each received a bank draft worth 200 taels of gold, drawn from a branch of the Liyuan Money Firm and redeemable at any time.

Ma Junmei could not help but beam with joy. To be honest, the four of them had not really contributed all that much; they had simply pulled together to deal with the Fat Mantis, and just by fighting a single battle, they had netted 200 taels of gold. Such a stroke of good fortune was something she had never even imagined before.

"Little Zhang, if you pull off a stunt like this again next time, hehe, I will, I will..." Ma Junmei was beginning to resemble the fat man more and more, grinning with a thoroughly wretched expression.

The fat man blinked and laughed, "What will you do? Pledge your body to me?"

Ma Junmei laughed brazenly, "I'll waive two months of your rent and utility bills."

The fat man immediately jumped up, "Damn it, that's even more awesome than pledging your body! Come on, President Ma, take this bank draft of mine right now. Consider it a token of filial respect from your younger brother to you, your elder. How about waiving three months of rent and utilities? What? You agree? Splendid! How about you treat us all to a mini hotpot tonight? Hmm, no, mini hotpots are too cheap. Let's go straight to the Eastern Fat Beef King instead! Right, the kind that costs 1888 per table. Wait, let me finish, don't faint just yet..."

Ma Junmei had already fainted.

The gift Qi Shiqi presented to Zhong Shuman not only included a bank draft for 500 taels of gold, but also two chivalrous merit badges—one was an Experience Bonus Badge, and the other was a Chivalry Doubling Badge. The value of such badges was exceptionally precious; as long as Zhong Shuman completed chivalrous quests in the future, her chivalry points would be doubled, which would be of immense benefit to her title and class advancement. In addition, a small box of hidden weapons was also attached.

Naturally, the gift presented to Zhang He was the most precious of all. The brocade box contained a 500-tael gold bank draft, alongside three martial arts manuals that unaligned players could learn: *Green Breeze Flourishing Anew*, *Butterfly Steps*, and *As-You-Wish Finger*.

Among them, *Green Breeze Flourishing Anew* was an internal cultivation manual: it allowed the normal usage duration of internal energy to be forcibly extended.

Its specific effect was that once the regular extended time expired, one's cultivation realm would ordinarily begin to suffer degradation. However, if *Green Breeze Flourishing Anew* was used at this juncture, although the realm would continue to erode, the internal energy effects you unleashed would remain at their absolute limit. Only after the duration of this manual finally elapsed would your internal energy state drop to its true level.

Viewed from another angle, while its effect appeared similar to *Withered to Flourishing*, it was actually vastly different, as it allowed the output of your formidable power to be sustained for as long as possible.

*Butterfly Steps* was a lightness skill manual, with a requirement of Initial-Ascent Realm Agility. Its effect: traversing flowers with butterfly dance, leaving lingering shadows that stir the mortal world.

This manual amply demonstrated Qi Shiqi's profound understanding of Zhang He's capabilities. It brilliantly compensated for the shortcomings of *Treading Song* and *Crossing the Lingbo*, and its specific effect, bluntly put, was reminiscent of Qi Shiqi's earlier battle against Jin Mailang: soaring through the air and scaling walls using mincing steps, dancing across walls, trees, sword-embedded stones, and flowerbeds. No matter how Jin Mailang tried to dodge, Qi Shiqi could persistently pursue him as if walking on flat ground. This lightness skill was not only graceful in posture but also exceptionally swift in changing direction, perfectly suited for close-range evasive pursuits. Just like a butterfly fluttering gracefully among flowers, it rendered the user utterly unpredictable and unfathomable.

*As-You-Wish Finger* had a requirement of Moistening Realm Strength, inflicting damage equal to Strength multiplied by 0.2, with effects including: Motion Arrest, Qi Seizure, and Perception Reduction.

This was an acupoint-sealing technique, a martial art that Zhang He currently lacked the most, though it could not yet be considered an intermediate-tier martial art because its effects were not yet overwhelmingly powerful.

The Motion Arrest effect reduced the opponent's agility and stripped away their mobility—something the *Five Elements Hand* could also accomplish.

However, Qi Seizure was something the *Five Elements Hand* could not achieve. It prevented the opponent's true qi from being circulated for a certain period of time, which, plainly speaking, suppressed and sealed the enemy's internal energy deployment.

Zhang He had learned this lesson the hard way. Back at the Peony Tower when he faced Slashing Through the Streets, had he known *As-You-Wish Finger*, Slashing Through the Streets would never have been able to unleash his palm wind, and Zhang He would not have sustained such severe injuries.

Perception Reduction weakened...

Zhang He's current martial arts skill tree had already taken rudimentary shape, primarily divided into five major categories:

Attribute Class: *Attack-Kill Swordsmanship*, *Flying Rock Swordsmanship*, *Boundless Heroic Qi*;

Brawling Class: *Five Elements Hand*, *Flying Rock Palm*, *Crushing Stone Foot*, *As-You-Wish Finger*, *Great Stone-Smasher Hand*;

Supportive Class: *Withered to Flourishing*, *Green Breeze Flourishing Anew*, *Clear Breeze Formula*, *Returning Wind Formula*;

Agility Class: *Treading Song*, *Crossing the Lingbo*, *Butterfly Steps*;

Ranged Class: *Money Dart*, *Qi-Returning Gold-Breaker*, *Flying Swallow Return*.

These five categories were relatively well-balanced, mutually complementary, and enhanced one another. Ranged attacks, brawling, weapons, mental cultivation, internal energy, lightness skills, and hidden weapons were all covered. If anything was lacking, it would be area-of-effect ultimate skills and more formidable upper-intermediate martial arts, but those were matters for future gradual development.

Objectively speaking, Zhang He's current repertoire of martial arts could still be described as following an all-rounder route, and his foundations had been laid quite solidly. Building upon this versatility, his prominent fighting style was characterized by absolute high damage output. It had to be noted that he currently possessed virtually no defensive skills, which could be considered a hidden weakness.

All in all, this trip to the Hidden Sword Manor had yielded extraordinarily bountiful rewards for Zhang He. After all, navigating this journey of wits and courage had taxed his mind and spirit, exacting a heavy price, so obtaining such generous returns was entirely reasonable.

Naturally, the harvest did not end there. As the group looked up once more, by the vibrant peach blossom grove along the Nan River, four palace-attired beauties surrounded a peerless beauty who was playing the zither.

Hua Feihong strode forward to greet them. "Fairy, I trust you have been well since we last met."

The Zither Fairy did not answer; she simply kept her head lowered and concentrated on her playing. This time was different from the last: the zither strings vibrated, and multicolored points of light resembling tiny stars scattered and flew outward from the strings. Accompanied by her marvelous zither melody, it was practically a scene straight out of a fairy tale.

Everyone stood there, utterly mesmerized.

After a long while, the Zither Fairy finally ceased playing and smiled gently, "The effect this time is entirely thanks to the Young Master obtaining the fluorescent grass from Golden Buddha Mountain."

As her voice trailed off, Zhang He heard the system's quest-completion chime. Lowering his head to check, his status bar showed that his chivalry points had risen to 24, and the red name he had acquired after chopping off the Fat Mantis's head had been washed clean to white.

This was immensely gratifying! He could finally enter cities to trade again. Dammit, staying out in the wilds for such a long time had certainly not been easy.

Overjoyed, Zhang He lowered his head and cupped his fists. "Many thanks, Fairy, for your generous reward."

The Zither Fairy's eyes flickered. "Young Master, are you and your companions embarking on a journey southward?"

Zhang He nodded. "Indeed. We are preparing to set off for Zhou Village at Fengling Ford in Chenzhou."

Pondering for a moment, the Zither Fairy said, "I have heard that Chenzhou produces an abundance of musical accessories crafted from a material known as Seven-Colored Shells. If you can collect thirty of them, it will allow the flowing zither music to take on tangible form. I wonder if Lady Hua and the Young Master might be willing to undertake this on my behalf?"

Did she even need to ask if they were willing? Zhang He and Hua Feihong would have to be complete fools to refuse.

Zhang He figured this was probably yet another chivalry-point quest. Once they reached Chenzhou, he would finally be able to let loose and slaughter to his heart's content. With so many martial arts now at his disposal, it was high time he thoroughly tested their might.

The Zither Fairy smiled. "In that case, Little Sound expresses her gratitude in advance. Allow me to play a melody to bid farewell to old friends and kindred spirits. The road ahead is perilous, so please take utmost care of yourselves."

As Zhang He and his companions boarded the boat, the Zither Fairy's melodious and gentle zither music, harmonizing with Hua Feihong's xiao flute, echoed across the riverside:

*Recalling the wanderings of my youth,*
*Straddling my proud azure steed,*
*Wielding a sword to walk the jianghu,*
*Seeking fame and glory until my hair turns white.*
*In moments of high spirits, wading across White Bone Ford through shifting sands;*
*In drunken revelry, slaying heads amidst bustling marketplaces.*
*There were times when, utterly destitute, I extended a miraculous helping hand;*
*There were times when, for thousands in gold, I bought drunkenness and entered the quarters of green.*
*There were times when, riding my horse, I cast favors upon the long road;*
*There were times when, adorned with flowers and painting eyebrows, I faced a fair lady's head.*
*Gatherings and partings of winds and clouds must eventually come to an end,*
*Old friends borrow a billowing sail upon rivers and seas.*
*At the hour of parting, I only lament that knowing each other was too brief;*
*Holding hands, I suddenly feel the chill of my green robes.*
*Endless are the willows of three spring months by the Ba Bridge and the long pavilion;*
*Hard to put down is a cup of wine in the autumn wind at Yangguan.*
*Tomorrow's withered flowers will cause even butterflies to grieve;*
*Even if we were to adorn ourselves with flowers and get drunk together,*
*In the end, it is nothing like the wanderings of our youth...*

Amidst the fading sounds of zither and flute, the painted boat gradually sailed toward Chenzhou, and Zhang He stepped forth upon a brand-new journey.